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ENMU remodel slowly moving forward

ENMU-Ruidoso President Clayton Alred updated past projects while looking towards the future during Tuesday’s Community College Board meeting.Several planned remodels are moving forward, albeit slowly, according to Alred.

ENMU remodel slowly moving forward

ENMU-Ruidoso President Clayton Alred updated past projects while looking towards the future during Tuesday’s Community College Board meeting.
Several planned remodels are moving forward, albeit slowly, according to Alred.

In 2014, voters approved the statewide General Obligation (GO) Bond. They are meant to fund capital improvement projects and are mandated to be on the ballot every two years. While there are no tax increases associated with approval of a the GO bond, it is possible that property taxes could decrease very slightly should it fail.

The college was appropriated $325,000 from the 2014 GO Bond election to remodel the entrance of the building on Mechem Drive. The remodel will result in a single entrance and will add approximately 1,500 square feet to the facility, as the two porticos are sealed off.

The cost per square foot is $91; a very reasonable amount according to Alred.

“Typically renovation costs run between $100 and $150,” said Alred.

The New Mexico Higher Education Department now requires a final approval before a construction permit can be issued. Alred is scheduled to attend a Sept. 14 meeting to discuss the cost of plans.

The estimated cost for the remodel for the entrance is just over $347,000. The difference will be made up by monies from reserves said Alred.
The second remodel project involves the former Construction Trades shop at the rear of the building.

The large space will be reconfigured to include art classes that will be moved back to the main campus building when the White Mountain Annex is relinquished. The project will be funded by the severance tax bond proceeds from the 2015 special session. Discussions with the architect are on-going and the remodel will begin once the college has the consent to do so. Alred added that he hoped to use some of the $500,000 to begin the planning process for the third project, the remodel of the former Skeen Furniture store next door.

Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, the Albuquerque company behind the Capitan Secondary School and several other educational facilities, has been contacted regarding the newly-purchased building, and a proposal has been received. Three phases are being considered including an “as-built” floorplan to define the perimeter and interior structures.
Alred noted that since the building was purchased as a foreclosure, no plans were ever received.

The second phase would be a conceptual plan where stakeholders would be solicited for ideas and opinions and a “vision” for the building would lay out possible types and sizes of spaces. The last of the three phases of the proposal would be a conceptual design, reducing ideas into two “test fit” floorplans.

Dekker/Perich/Sabatini’s estimated cost for the remodel will be used for a total amount to be used as the basis for a possible future bond sale.

Applying the higher $150 per square foot cost of renovation to the Skeen building that is 17,000 square feet, Alred concluded that the cost might approach $2,550,000.

He also included the possibility of including paving the parking lot in front of the two buildings which could add an additional $650,000 but, due to a calculation error, Alred felt that the figure of $3 million for both aspects of the project was ballpark.

Alred further provided the board with a report by the George K. Baum and Company of historical trends of assessed value of properties that included a plan of finance for a possible bond election. Two scenarios were presented: one for the tax impact on a $2 million and one for a $3 million issuance, with an annual debt service of $2,411,150 and $3,616,200, respectively.

The report did not include the impact on residential properties with a value of $220,000 — the average price in the district—but did include how much owners of $100,000, $150,000 and $200,000 properties could expect to pay, given an interest rate of 3 percent during the years of 2018 through 2028. An owner of a $200,000 residential property would face an added $20 to $21 per year for a $2 million dollar issuance while the same owner would pay just over $31 during the same period for a $3 million bond.
Board Chairman Brad Treptow asked if Dr. Alred had an estimate for the cost of such an election.

“We have an election budgeted for the current election cycle,” answered Alred. “It is budgeted for half of the total because we share expensed with the Ruidoso Municipal School District, but it is part of the current budget.”

There will be another Bond C election this year. ENMU-Ruidoso is requesting $700,000 for a remodel of the existing Student Services offices to enhance retention efforts, establish a tutoring location and to provide a workable space, according to a PowerPoint presentation Dr. Alred that is available on the New Mexico Higher Education Department website.